Hi and more newbie advice please

[George_N]

Hi all,
I've been lurking on this forum for a while now and I thought it was about time that I said hello. I'm returning to woodworking as a hobby after about 30 years of general DIY type projects although I did do woodwork at school to Higher level. I've finally got a house with some workshop space - a single garage and a motley collection of tools. The main project I have in the horizon is to refit the kitchen and I thought I would ask for some advice on whether you think it would be cost effective to build my own carcasses (and doors?) rather than buying ready made or flat-pack units. I currently have a Makita circular saw with a home made saw guide for cutting sheet material and a TrendTech router (2kW, B&Q) for cleaning up edges and squaring panels. Would it be do-able with this level of equipment? Or should I be looking to buy a table saw for this kind of work - I quite like the idea of the Triton Workcentre as I don't have a lot of space (or money) although it seems to get slightly mixed reviews on this forum.

thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

George

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi George

Welcome to the forum.

I have just produced a number of carcasses for use in the workshop and made them with 18mm ply. I cut the trenches/dadoes with a router using a dado jig and finished them off with the Kreg pocket hole kit and glue.

I would highly recommend it as a simple method of construction.

One point, if you go down the Kreg route, make sure that you have the carcass clamped so that it cannot move when using the Kreg jig.

I used a circular saw to cut the panels down to size. You just need a good blade.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Waka]

George

Welocme to the forum

The main project I have in the horizon is to refit the kitchen and I thought I would ask for some advice on whether you think it would be cost effective to build my own carcasses (and doors?) rather than buying ready made or flat-pack units.

Most certainly more cost effective to make your own as apposed to flat pack, they will be sturdier than you can buy, also thickness of wood (if you choose) will be better. None of this hardboard backs etc.

I did my kitchen a few years ago and ended up with exactly what I wanted not what the market dictated.

As to the Triton work centre I can't comment, but a lot of people give it a good review, If you are thinking of buying one I'd look out for something second hand initially.

As neil says, it would be worth while investing in the Kreg Jig, it really makes life easier when putting carcusses together.

 

[wizer]

I can't really recommend the triton kit yet as I have only had it a week and not used it properly. However through my research I found the Trition setup to be ideal for Beginners and Experts alike and People with limited space or lots of space. It's basically a great allrounder. From what I have seen it puts a lot of the more expensive machinery to shame. Infact i have never read a bad review of it, and those who are negative about the Triton kit are normally people who haven't taken the time to research it themselves.

 

[George_N]

Thanks for the quick replies and the welcome. You have encouraged me to give it a try. If I can make some units for the workshop that are up to a suitable standard then I can persuade my wife that that is the best way to go. Ideally I'd like to make panel doors like those posted in the how to section but I think that might add too much to the build time. If I buy ready made doors (ok more expensive, but much quicker given that I have never built a door like that before) what would be a good source?

cheers

George

 

[wizer]

You can buy premade doors but then that restricts you to certain sizes. I got interested in woodworking because I wanted to make things to my own specification. i.e I am 6ft.3 so I like worktops to be a bit higher to save my back.

Obviously if you do go for pre-made doors, make sure you consider the sizes in your design.

Edit: There are plenty of kitchen design programes out there that will help you with the layout if using standard size doors.

 

[jasonB]

Just to throw a spanner in the works I would buy the carcases, modify as required and concentrate my efforts on the doors & trim etc.

When you can buy a typical 600mm carcase for £25-30 with all the board cut (you will need a good saw & blade to avoid chips) Lipped and with all the hardware to join them, legs etc you will not be saving much money especially if you had to figure time & tools into the equasion.

What type & style of kitchen are you going for, this this is one I did earlier year that has commercial carcases but the rest (doors & oak) by me.

Jason

 

[George_N]

Thanks for the alternative point of view Jason. Not sure if it helps me with my dilemma though. I suspect a £25 base unit would be made of 15 mm melamine faced chipboard which I would quite like to avoid. My local B&Q has 18 mm birch ply for £31/sheet, and I reckon I would get a couple of units/sheet if I used 12 mm ply for the back. Of course I'd need edge banding, legs and some sort of finish.
I had not considered pocket hole joinery for this sort of cabinet, I was thinking of router cut rebates top, bottom and back and just screwing through the sides. The screw heads would only show on end units and I could fit a separate end panel or maybe use plugs to hide the screw heads.

 

[wizer]

It is another expenditure, but have u considered using biscuit joinery?

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi George

I had not considered pocket hole joinery for this sort of cabinet, I was thinking of router cut rebates top, bottom and back and just screwing through the sides. The screw heads would only show on end units and I could fit a separate end panel or maybe use plugs to hide the screw heads.

With pocket hole joinery you don't see any of the screws and, if you want, can also buy the plugs to fill the hole. I didn't bother as it was for the workshop and all of the holes were out of sight.

Cheers
Neil

 

[matt]

I made some panel effect doors by glueing strips of 6mm MDF to door size sheets of 12mm MDF. Crude but they look ok. MDF may not be the best choice for kitchen doors unless you edge them with timber. In any event they'd need to be painted.

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